


Through The Years

by mac_andcheeses



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M, jolex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28668480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mac_andcheeses/pseuds/mac_andcheeses
Summary: ONE-SHOT #5Jo's journey to motherhood
Relationships: Alex Karev & Jo Wilson, Alex Karev/Jo Wilson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22
Collections: The Group Chat's Fics





	Through The Years

**Author's Note:**

> this fic was meant to be something completely different but i went off on a bit of a tangent and this thing was created instead..so opps 
> 
> mac only writes at 1am now apparently so don't even ask me what this is because i just typed random words on a page 
> 
> anyways, alex doesn't go to kansas because he's not a big fucking idiot in this fic so that's a win

##  **_2009_ **

She was late. She and Paul had been dating for less than six months, and Jo was late.

Usually, she’d brush it off as stress and dietary changes. She was facing her hardest few weeks of med school to date, pulling all-nighters to cope with all the study required and defaulting to fast food for every meal. Her period had never exactly been regular, even when she was on the pill. But it had gotten significantly less regular since she’d gone off her birth control to help her hormone levels. Right now though, the irregularity scared her, especially because the condom had broken during sex just a few weeks beforehand. So, for once, she had a reason to be concerned about being late. It’s the reason she was also regretting her decision to rely purely on condoms.

The thought of having a child hadn’t even crossed her mind before, like she hadn’t even considered the possibility of getting pregnant. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be a mother; she did, but it just wasn’t something that even vaguely fit into her life at that moment in time. She was grateful for Paul; for loving her when she didn’t think she was capable of being loved, for giving her a home when she had nothing else but her car. But, Jo couldn’t have a baby in med school, not when she’d only known the father for a small while. Her child deserved more than that.

Hence, when the stick came up negative, Jo was relieved to say the least. She was going to be a mother, a great one at that, but it wasn’t her time then.

##  **_2011_ **

The first time she’d suspected it, the fear she’d had, her worry of the stick turning positive, was all driven by the ways the baby would potentially mess up her life. But the next time she thought she was pregnant, and when she was staring down at the blood test results that confirmed it, all she could think about was the ways in which she would ruin the baby’s life. She couldn’t leave, Paul wouldn’t let her, but her baby didn’t deserve to be trapped too. No one deserved the life she was living.

She had been only seven weeks pregnant when he’d cracked her ribs and thrown her across the living room floor, landing her back in the hospital for the third time that month. Jo may not have been faced with the best childhood, having been bounced around the foster care system from placement to placement until she found herself homeless and living in her car as a teenager. That being said, she’d considered her baby’s future to be much grimmer.

The abuse Paul was capable of, both physical and emotional, was something no child should be exposed to. She couldn’t have that baby with him; they couldn’t be a family. It’s not what she wanted her story to be.

##  **_2015_ **

Jo couldn’t help but smile when she’d received her boyfriend's text whilst leaving work that evening. Looking down at her phone, she felt comfort in Alex’s proud smile and beaming eyes as she stared at the photograph of him in awe. He was sitting at the foot of Meredith's hospital bed, holding a newborn Ellis in his arms, her miniature hand wrapped around his finger. It was in that moment that everything had clicked; Alex Karev was the man she wanted to have her family with. He was her forever.

They’d spoken about children before, hell, he’d brought up having kids with her ever since the ‘we’ll be together forever’ speech at April and Matthew's wedding. But it was always him, never Jo. She would smile and nod, wanting so badly to say the words too, but ultimately found herself silenced by the fear of bringing a child into a world that they would suffer in. She couldn’t bear the thought of her son or daughter experiencing any of the hardships her and Alex went through. And yet, seeing him with a baby in his arms, Jo realised that all those fears were irrelevant.

She and Alex were meant to be. Both together, and apart, they’d fought long and hard to get to the point that they were at. She thought she was loved by Paul because she hadn’t felt love from somebody before. She just told herself she was happy because that’s what she wanted so badly to believe. But the moment she’d clicked with Alex, the moment she’d felt love for the first time in her life, she suddenly felt safe. Their relationship hadn’t been smooth sailing, but she also always knew that she would have him as her safety net no matter what happened. He would be there for her day and night, rain and the sun, together or apart.

She wasn’t afraid to have a baby with Alex because she could trust him with every fibre of her being to build the family that their child deserved.

##  **_2017_ **

“I woke up feeling nauseous this morning,” Jo said softly, her head still taking comfort on his shoulder.

“What was that?” Alex turned to look at her. It was the first thing she’d said since Paul had left and he wasn't sure if he’d heard her correctly.

“I woke up feeling nauseous this morning,” Jo repeated. “I thought for a moment that I could have been pregnant; my boobs have been sore, my appetites been weird and while I appreciate that you haven’t said anything, I know my moods have been off.”

Alex stared back dumbstruck, unsure what to say

“Anyways, I’m not, so no need to start freaking out,” she added quickly at the sight of his visible panic. “It was just PMS so cheers to the female body for making pregnancy symptoms and period symptoms share similarities.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Alex pulled away slightly, but kept his arm around her waist.

Shaking her head, Jo waved her arm in dismissal. “Oh I figured out I wasn’t pregnant relatively fast so it wasn’t something we needed to discuss. The point is, though, I wasn’t scared. I’ve had pregnancy scares in the past...with Paul,” Jo decided not to tell Alex about the abortion at that moment in time, “and on both occasions it felt as if the world was collapsing in on me. But I didn’t feel that way this morning, I was nervous about all the unknowns to come, but I wasn’t scared about the baby part itself. You are my family, Alex. You’re my everything. I’m ready for whatever life throws at us.”

“Are you saying you want to try for a baby?” Alex’s eyes went wide, confusion setting in.

“Are you kidding?” Jo laughed, “of course not, you idiot! Not now...but I want it someday, and it’s you that I want it with.”

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” Alex grinned.

“Ah, once or twice, I think. Feel free to keep saying it, though.”

##  **_2019_ **

The pregnancy joke at the second wedding was nothing more than a joke, a small way to get back at Alex for mocking her halloween costume all day. However, what Jo wasn’t expecting was for the words to feel so natural leaving her mouth.

Ever since the day with Paul, when Jo had actually thought for a split second that she was pregnant, she had gotten comfortable with the idea of having a baby with Alex if life decided to throw them that challenge. But that’s all it was, she’d never thought about actively trying to grow their family.

However, saying the words out loud, Jo realised that it was no longer just a case of her and Alex having a baby because her birth control failed. Suddenly, she found herself wanting to actively try to have one. She was ready to be a mom.

And so that’s what they did. Getting to work approximately ten seconds after she brought it up with Alex the next day, he claimed it was his favourite of the three honeymoons they’d had. 

##  **_2020_ **

“You did good, babe. You did really, really good.”

Jo let out a breath of relief looking down at the baby sleeping soundly in her arms. “I’m just so happy that she's okay. She scared me for a minute there.”

“Yeah but she’s a Karev, so she’s a little fighter,” Alex his finger over his daughters cheek. “She was just keeping us on our toes, showing us who are really going to be running the show from now on.”

Jo’s pregnancy had been relatively uneventful, having gone by fairly quickly for the couple. But her labour, well her labour had been nothing but chaos. Ending up with an emergency caesarean on hour thirty-six of slow progress and a dropping fetal heart rate, Jo had already determined her daughter to have the stubborn Karev gene.

“She’s the boss, alright. Aren’t you, Millie?” she cooed playfully.

Their family was nowhere near complete, with Alex and Jo having already decided that they’re having more children, but they were a changed family. Changed for the better. Millie Karev was the light at the end of Jo’s long and windy tunnel.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: @mac-andcheeses


End file.
